The White House announced on Feb 20 that US President Barack Obama will receive the 14th Dalai Lama in Washington next morning (US Eastern Time) for their third meeting since he assumed office in 2009.

The move is regrettable, and harmful for China-US relations. It is a flagrant breach of the US' pledge not to interfere in China's domestic affairs, and will damage the relationship the two countries have developed over the years.

In June 2013, less than three months into his presidency, President Xi Jinping traveled to California to meet with Obama at Sunnylands and usher in a new sunny period in cross-Pacific ties. Since then, guided by the shared vision of building a new type of major power relationship, China and the US have established closer cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and military fields.